? for buddy sanders

[jalama]

i am still trying to do a wiggle bug or minnow. only foam i can find is the thin stuff at wally world. how did you make the body on the rainbow patten that you shared in the fun with foam topic? are they cemented together and if so with what? what thickness of foam is that? any tips would be greatly appreciated as i'm not a rocket scientist when it comes to tying.

[Uncle Jesse]

Okay, I'm not Buddy but this is an easy question. Think flip flop about 1/2 in. thick; lots of dollar stores will have foam puzzles designed for small children about 3/8 in thick. White flip flops especially if you can find a wedge sole about 1 1/2 in thick are great, you can color them with felt tips or fingernail polish with glitter and sparkles in it. Sometimes this is also available at the dollar store. Of course, the best source is teenage girls who are tired of those shoes or that color polish. Be on the look out for a wrecked umbrella with a steel shaft. They make great cutters for foam. Check out the thrift stores too.

[Buddy Sanders]

Jalama,

The trout pattern wiggle fish is made with 2mm craft foam. It's the same stuff you see at WalMart or any of the hobby stores.

I buy it in the colors I want to laminate together. I cut each sheet into quarters because it's easier to handle the smaller sheets. I glue them together using contact cement. It's works better over a larger surface than super glues of the gorilla type glues. You can get it at WalMart or any hardware or paint store. It comes with a brush built into the can/container lid. You just brush it onto both surfaces, let it dry, them stick the pieces together. Bonds instantly so align carefully before you let them touch.

The trout pattern uses three layers, green/purple/pink. To do three, you have to glue twice. Once for the first two colors, then again to glue the first set to the third color layer. After the quarter sheet sections are laminated together, I use a metal ruler and a razor blade to cut them into strips for making the bait.

For the soild color bodies, I buy 'thick' 6mm foam. I find this at the craft stores like Michaels, JoAnnes, or Hobby Lobby. It only comes in a few colors, but they include black and white. For Chartruese, which I sometimes can't find in full 6mm sheets, I buy those child room door knob hangers. These are also made from 6mm foam. Again, the craft stores sell these, as does WalMart sometimes.

If you can't find the thick foam, you can laminate three sheets of 2mm foam together to get to 6mm.

Good luck!

Buddy

[James Smith]

If you go to any of the hobby stores Michaels, Hobby Lobby etc. look for the foam doorknob hangers. They buse them for kid's rooms so they come in several colors, but I prefer black for most of my wigglebugs. This foam is exacly the right thinkness and is nice and firm. You can usually get packs of 10 of these doorknob hangers for a few bucks, enough to make several hundred wigglebugs.

Jim Smith